7th April 2018 - release of Plant Base 2.1.8

A maintenance version that includes a some small changes to the user interface and a few bug fixes. There is no new database with this version, it remains the same as the previous versions at release number 27 (database revisions are in progress for release at a later date).

Main visible changes are - the addition of a roll-up/roll-down button to the select tab and a different file-select window for those users who need to switch database files.

Due to the bug fixes, this is a recommended program update for all existing users. There are equivalent editions for Windows 32-bit, 64-bit and Mac OSX systems.

19th August 2017 - release of Plant Base 2.1.7

This previous release was also a program maintenance version, including bug fixes and other minor changes. It included a new database release, number 27, with many plant record updates, plus new plants and pictures

For new users the trial period was extended to 20 days.

21st March 2013 - release of Plant Base 2.1.0

This was a major version of the application and the first public release of the newly re-coded program.

The database content was Data Release 24, the same as the final Plant Base '1'.

It is possible to install and run the new Plant Base 2 version alongside version 1.6.1

All existing license registration codes remain valid for Plant Base 2. New users get a 15 day trial period, exactly as before.

Notable changes since Plant Base 1.6.1

Plant records have 3 new fields - spiny/thorny, invasive and leaf-shape. As these are additional to the existing database they have not been completed for many plant records.

List records have 3 new fields to hold GPS data - these are intended mostly for the future mobile edition.

Imperial sizes and Fahrenheit temperature are handled differently. Main display is always metric/Celsius but with options for mouse-over conversions and alternate data entry in Imperial/US Standard units.

Portable run-time mode is available - can run entirely from a USB memory stick.

Optional small screen display mode, suitable for most netbooks.

Archive function has been renamed to Extract and is no longer a separate program.

Import plant data function now has a new option to apply record deletions, as logged in the import file.

Resize new pictures on-the-fly when adding.

Add pictures from the Windows Clipboard as alternative to the usual file method.

Possibility of alternative languages for the user interface.

The old plant reporter module has been improved and merged into the main program.

General release notes

The current release has approximately 12,000 plants and 6,000 pictures. However our eventual aim is for this to grow considerably and loading additional data and images will be an ongoing process for some time to come. For this reason all registered users can update to new versions at no additional cost.

The default language for user interface of Plant Base 2 is English, but language can be changed by using external translation files. Versions 1.x.x. are English language only. Please see the languages page for further information..

Plant Base 2 needs Windows 2000 or later, Plant Base 1 will run on older Windows versions (95, 98, NT4, ME as well as 2000, XP, Vista and Windows 7). The old version will remain available for download.

Though Plant Base was originally developed for MS Windows PCs, we are also aiming to provide native editions for other platforms. Notably, a Mac OS edition and a mobile Android app are now available. A Linux desktop edition is written and under initial testing. All current editions use the same database system so that plant data is interchangeable regardless of platform.

PureBasic

Plant Base 2 is coded in a different programming language from the older versions. This is important and necessary because the original development system from Microsoft is now regarded as obsolete.

After considering several alternative programming languages for the re-coding of Plant Base, we selected PureBasic from Fantaisie Software, France. This powerful and highly efficient development tool provides great capability for producing native PC applications. It is an excellent choice for small-scale developers with limited resources and one of the best programming languages we have seen.

We would like to thank the Fantaisie Software team and the entire PureBasic forum community. Many have helped and provided code examples, but for their substantial contributions we specially mention Timo Harter, Stephen Rodriguez and Martin Guttman.